About a month and a half ago, if there was a Big Ten team that was expected to make a lot of noise in this NCAA Tournament, it was not the Michigan Wolverines. But they have definitely forced themselves right into the picture, winning their conference's post-season tournament, and now advancing to the national championship game, where they will take on the Villanova Wildcats, who are trying to make it two championships in three seasons, with the opening tip scheduled for 9:20 PM ET at the Alamodome in San Antonio. TBS will carry the game live, and while BetAnySports customers are watching it, they can place wagers in real-time using the technology available through Live Betting Ultra.

Villanova (35-4 straight-up, 27-12 ATS) simply ran and hid in their Final Four game against Kansas, getting off to a 22-4 lead and then continuing to keep the pressure on as they chalked up a 95-79 victory. Villanova made 18 three-point shots, most of them in the first half, and just never gave Kansas a chance to get into it. That was a bit of a surprise for people who thought this was going to be more competitive, but gives you an idea of how focused this Villanova team is. They are just so deadly on offense that there is no way that you can consistently defend them. This is a team that shoots 59% from two-point range, which is third-best in the country, and they also hit 40.1% of their triples, which is 11th. And for good measure, they do not miss all that much from the free-throw line either, as they are hitting just a shade under 78%. So where are the weaknesses?

Michigan (33-7 straight-up, 25-13-1 ATS) will try to find them, and then exploit them. You don't want to underestimate head coach John Beilein, because he knew just how to bring his team around than have them ready to play their best basketball at this time of the year. Michigan sandwiched a couple of sub-40% shooting performances with a 62% outburst against Texas A&M in the Sweet 16, scoring 99 points and demonstrating that they can play up-tempo if they have to. That might be an important factor here, as it may come down to trading points with this Villanova team that is currently on a 15-5 "over" run. Michigan is now 11-2-1 against the points in its last 14 games, while Villanova has covered eight of its last nine. So these teams of making money as well.

In the March Madness betting odds posted on this game by the people at BetAnySports, Villanova is laying some points:

Villanova Wildcats -6.5
Michigan Wolverines +6.5

Over 145 points -110
Under 145 points -110

Really, the big question for Michigan is whether they are going to be able to slow down Villanova's shooting from long-range. There is no question that they have the capability to do it, or at least that is what they have shown recently, as they have allowed their opponents to shoot better than 31% from three-point territory in only one of the last 10 games. Loyola came into Saturday's contest with a three-point percentage that was basically the same as Villanova has, and they went only 1-for-10 from downtown. The fact that they only made ten attempts might also be something that is telling; Michigan's foes this season shot only 29.8% of their total field-goals from beyond the arc, which means that the Wolverines do a good job of getting out on the perimeter and making people do it another way. With the likes of Moe Wagner and 6-6 Charles Matthews exhibiting some "length" out there, this might indeed make it more difficult for Villanova's Jalen Brunson, or the two big men (Eric Paschall and Omar Spellman), who made half their 14 triples attempts on Saturday, to operate.

But Villanova CAN do it another way, as we have seen many times. Their accuracy from two-point range is extremely impressive, and you certainly don't want to foul them either. One could say that Michigan might be able to get into more of a high-tempo game, but do they really want to engage in a shooting contest with Villanova? Comebacks against Loyola are one thing, but Villanova has so much weaponry, with so much balance (five starters averaging in double figures) and get good enough spacing to get favorable looks that they have a tendency to shut the door on teams trying to get into "catch-up" mode.

A lot has been said of the offensive versatility of Wagner, and it's definitely true – as he showed on Saturday, with his 24 points and 15 rebounds, he does present a matchup nightmare for anybody. But Villanova stretches out a lot of people as well. Let's face it; Michigan is the team more likely to shoot "bricks" in this one, and Villanova has exactly what it takes to extend leads – great virtuosity from beyond the arc and at the line. So it's kind of hard to move against them.

BetAnySports gives you a great free play bonus for signing up, and reduced juice will allow you to avoid laying the customary -110 on the national championship game......Remember also that you can stay in the action while it is in progress, using the state-of-the-art technology from Live Betting Ultra, and when it comes to opening up an account, you get a lot of ways to go – either your Visa card, person-to-person transfers (like Western Union) or the virtual currency of Bitcoin, which is fast and easy with their automated system, and NEVER incurs a transaction fee!

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